By Charles Lefebvre

Emergency department at hospital to begin third phase of expansion

Jan 8, 2019 | 3:35 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — The Medicine Hat Regional Hospital has marked the end of the second phase of renovations to the emergency department.

The new emergency department doors, located off Sixth Avenue Southwest, were used for the first time on Tuesday, replacing the former emergency entrance.

The renovations to the emergency department have been ongoing since last year, according to Ryan Klick, manager of the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital’s emergency department.

“This is the first major renovation to the emergency department since 1984,” he said. “We’ve just entered phase three of a three phase expansion.”

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The first phase began last year, and saw crews preparing the new space. The second phase saw the new entrance created and staff moving into part of its new space, with 28 beds in emergency.

Once the renovations are completed, there will be a total of 40 beds in emergency. Klick says all treatment spaces in the new unit will be enclosed by glass doors to allow for more privacy for patients. Once completed, the new emergency department will cover roughly 1,400 square metres.

“This expansion is very important,” said Klick. “We have for years known that we have outgrown the existing emergency department space, just in terms of patient volumes, wait times, et cetera. This space will allow us to expand to the growing community, which has been growing for years, and better meet the needs of the patients that are using our services.”